This breakthrough, the result of three years of intensive research and backed by 19 patents, promises to make textile recycling significantly more scalable, reducing waste and improving sustainability in apparel manufacturing.
The research, led by Professor Remzi Becer and Dan Mackinnon Ph.D. from Warwick’s Department of Chemistry, in conjunction with CreateMe’s research scientist Yixin Liu, Ph.D., MS, has created an adhesive that allows garments to be bonded at low temperatures and later disassembled at high temperatures (above dry-cleaning levels).
Researchers at The University of Warwick and CreateMe Technologies have developed a thermoreversible adhesive that enables automated garment assembly and disassembly, enhancing textile recycling.
This innovation, backed by 19 patents, reduces waste and supports sustainability.
It aligns with new regulations and has potential applications beyond fashion, including healthcare and aerospace.
This innovation directly addresses the fashion industry’s long-standing challenge of textile waste, where 92 million tons of fabric are discarded annually due to inefficient recycling processes.
Professor Remzi Becer, The University of Warwick said, “This collaboration demonstrates how material science and automation can converge to address global sustainability challenges.
“The potential applications extend far beyond fashion, impacting industries such as healthcare, automotive, aerospace, and home goods.”
The fashion industry generates approximately 92 million tons of textile waste annually, with a significant portion ending up in landfills. Today, textile recycling is inherently non-scalable due to the high manual labour resources required to de-stitch and separate non like-for-like fabrics and hardware for in-take.
This reversible adhesive technology enables fully automated bonded assembly and disassembly of garments for recycling. This disassembly process occurs at higher temperatures than typical washing and care operations, reducing the risk of inadvertent failure before the garment reaches the end of its life.
“CreateMe is uniquely positioned to transform how apparel is made,” said Cam Myers, Founder and CEO of CreateMe. “Our thermoreversible adhesive science paves the way for enhanced recycling opportunities, as part of our overall automated assembly manufacturing process, producing apparel in-market and on-demand.
“The timing could not be greater with the Extended Producer Responsibility legislation currently being enacted in Europe and in certain U.S. states that bring enhanced requirements for end of life management of apparel products. This is a game changer for enabling the wider adoption of locally produced apparel and to facilitate recycling.”
CreateMe and Warwick are actively engaging with industry leaders to scale this groundbreaking adhesive technology, extending its applications beyond fashion through beta testing and licensing opportunities. This scalable approach highlights the adhesive’s potential to address sustainability challenges on a global scale, transforming not only apparel manufacturing but also other industries and recycling industry partners reliant on efficient, circular production models.
Note: The headline, insights, and image of this press release may have been refined by the Fibre2Fashion staff; the rest of the content remains unchanged.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RM)